Don Carr has fond memories of his father, an electronics enthusiast, recording him sing as a young kid. He played a number of instruments in school as his parents were always supportive o...
Vern Crews grew up surrounded by music. His uncle, Pee Wee Marquette, who was the master of ceremonies for the famed Birdland jazz club, gave young Vern a Hammond Organ when he was a kid....
Nick D’Virgilio grew up in the Los Angeles area and was exposed to music at a very young age. He was given his first drum set when he was 5 years old and was in a band by the time he was ...
David Stewart remembers making a choice to go from playing music professionally to the technological side of touring and working as a sound engineer. He toured during the 1980s, working l...
Tracy Leenman remembers hearing her father play the saxophone and wanting to play the same instrument. She played several instruments throughout school including the sax, flute, and basso...
David Kalt remembers, with a smile, the Fender Stratocaster he dreamed of as a kid. He also recalls that great day in 1985 when he finally got a 1970s Strat! The instrument has a special ...
C.J. Averwater recalls the story of his great grandfather, M.J. Averwater, a music teacher who decided to open a small store in Memphis called Amro Music. C.J. grew up in the business and...
Daniel Fisher has a long and interesting history in music, which began as a child when his parents discovered that he could play by ear at age 5. His education continued on a Hammond B3 o...
Lynn Fuston was a junior in high school when he started recording the school choir. He had been singing his whole life but recognized the need to make better recordings. Following his pas...
Dwight Vicks, III serves as president and is the third generation to run Vicks, a content delivery company originally known as Vicks Brothers Printing. Started by his grandfather, Dwight ...
Jim Hauer has many fond memories of his grandfather, Michael Hauer, a noted big band leader who opened their family’s music store in 1937. Jim recalls his grandfather providing music less...
Jerry Hauer grew up in a very musical home. His father was a big band leader with a noted radio show, Michael Hauer and His Band of the Hour! When Michael was off the road with his band, ...
Ray Stacy began working for the O.S. Kelly Company in 1978 and has a true sense of pride in the work they do in creating piano plates. Located in Springfield, Ohio, the foundry was establ...
Jim Kincaid has fond memories of his father singing and playing his guitar. Jim’s father was the folk singer and publisher, Bradley Kincaid, who helped pioneer folk music on the radio in ...
Linda (Wert) Young asked her parents, when she was twenty, to assist her in the upstart of a music store after realizing her passion for helping children identify their interest and abili...
Dan Crary first played an acoustic music festival in the 1960’s when the steel-string guitar was often in the background. However, Dan’s lead guitar playing caught the attention of a gene...
Dr. Steven Eisenberg is an Oncologist with a deep passion for music making. He followed his family’s tradition of medicine while following his own love of music. Since 2008, he has teamed...
Don Morris is the founder and product engineer behind Electroplex Amplifiers, which includes their famous Rocket series. In 1993, Don sat down with Trev Wilkinson to design a new amplifie...
Rita Goldman sat right next to her future husband in high school and recalls with a smile how their friendship turned to a long and loving marriage. She also warmly recalls his passion fo...
Dan Del Fiorentino is the Music Historian for NAMM who heads the industry's Oral History program. Dan began this special project in March 2000, after having served as the first curator of...
Jack Casady played electric bass for the Jefferson Airplane before forming the band Hot Tuna with his lifelong friend, Jorma Kaukonen. Jack and Jorma played together in Jefferson Airplane...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Tommy Traynor was a singer during the Big Band Era with the...
Ami Belli grew up in the Philippines surrounded by music. She played piano as a girl and would often sing with her mother and sisters. She earned her medical degree and moved to the Unite...
Gene (Cip) Cipriano began his musical career with the big bands led by such stars as Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, and Tex Beneke. He later moved to Los Angeles where he soon began his incre...
Claudio Capponi is a musical instrument technician with a passion for the Farfisa Organ, after all he worked for the company for many years. His interest and dedication to the instrument ...
Rebecca Brill-Argall and her husband, Charlie, worked hard to build their customer base of dealers throughout Canada. Their distribution company provided musical instruments and accessori...
Charlie Argall picked up a guitar and wanted to join a band the moment he heard the Beatles. He took lessons where he was introduced to his local music store, a place he found fascinating...
Takeomi Nishimura found his way to Suzuki Musical Instruments while studying engineering in college. Upon returning home from school one day a friend suggested he work for the company and...
Reiko Suzuki discovered her passion for music at a young age as she watched her father and mother operate a company that manufactured harmonicas and other instruments. This coupled with h...
Seiki Kato is the president of KORG, the Japan based electronics company that has created innovative musical products since his father first established the company in the 1970s. Seiki pr...
